Chapter 532

Chapter 532: Another Grinding Stone

“What did you say?” Catherine’s face darkened as she heard Midi’s words.

“This battle will be mine to lead.”

Since when had anyone dared speak to her—a Child of the Dragon—like this?

And from a mere level 66 human from a City faction, no less!

Her carefully planned Kill had been so easily countered, already pushing her to the edge of anger. Now, Midi’s declaration felt like salt rubbed into the wound.

“You think you’re the only one who can fly?” Catherine hissed, her silver teeth grinding as she barked an order to her Ice Serpent Dragons. “Tear him apart!”

The six Ice Serpent Dragons encircling the battlefield roared, lifting from the ground and breaking free of the "Death Ice River"’s range, surging upward into the high skies.

The Ice Queen had a way to strike from the air after all!

A ripple of shock spread through the Dragon Tooth Arena.

But while the ascending Ice Serpent Dragons seemed unstoppable to others, to Midi, they were little more than slow-moving targets.

Compared to the swift Vanguard ships or the armored, firepower-heavy warships of the Sea of Clouds, these six dragons were laughably clumsy.

Wind Serpent Dragons might’ve given him pause, but ice? No.

Ice Serpent Dragons wielded raw power and biting frost, but their speed was pitiful. Made of dense, heavy ice, their bulky frames turned sluggish once airborne. They flailed upward like bloated balloons, lacking the agility for true flying.

Midi knew they’d never reach a kilometer’s height. Thin air would strain their magic, weakening their lift.

“Let me teach you real aerial combat, Catherine,” Midi sneered, diving like a falling star.

The Black Iron Dragon Flame streaked behind him, carving a black scar across the sky.

The dragons swung claws and tails, but without speed or footing, their attacks missed wildly. Midi became a black blur, weaving between them. A flash of light—and six Dragon Heads tumbled.

Cores shattered, the dragons crumbled into ice and snow, scattering like ash.

Catherine’s pretty face twisted as she watched, powerless to save them outside the Death Ice River’s reach. For the first time, the Ice Queen felt her enemies slipping beyond her grasp.

“You think this is enough?” she spat.

Ten-meter ice spears materialized around her—the Ice Mages skill, freezing spear. Drawing frost energy from the Death Ice River, their tips sharpened, bases swelling with power.

“Kill him!”

With Catherine’s sharp cry, multiple colossal ice spears shot upward toward Midi again.

“Bring it!” Midi roared, neither dodging nor retreating as he charged straight at the projectiles.

His Horn King Greatsword, cloaked in Black Flames, cleaved downward.

A kilometer above ground, icy fragments exploded like blooming flowers in that single instant.

The impact hurled Midi nearly a hundred meters backward, sending him spinning wildly through the air.

He marveled inwardly—the Children of the Dragon deserved their reputation. Once serious, their power became truly fearsome.

This wasn’t merely a kilometer of horizontal distance.

These spears had ascended vertically to strike at such height.

Worse, the Shaded Realm’s fifth layer held denser magic and harsher gravity than both the Sea of Clouds and Arad.

Yet the Ice Queen managed to hurl ice spears that far while retaining enough force to harm Midi.

The Dragon lineage’s true might revealed itself here.

Her long-range assaults now rivaled those of Fina, Queen of Magic, during Midi’s last encounter with her.

In the Sea of Clouds, Catherine could’ve sunk a heavy armored cruiser with one strike—such was her terrifying prowess.

But Midi fought in open skies, not on solid ground.

Even when battered backward and left vulnerable, he had ample time to recover without facing immediate follow-up attacks.

Catherine gnashed her teeth. Her spears breached his defenses, yet she lacked means to press the advantage.

Frustrated, she summoned more ice spears and unleashed another volley.

The frozen projectiles shrieked through the air.

Midi met them head-on again.

This collision threw him farther. Through her enhanced vision, Catherine spotted blood trickling from his lips.

Internal injuries!

Elation surged through her. She rapidly conjured fresh spears.

Thus the Ice Queen’s barrage continued, Midi intercepting most strikes with occasional evasions. Their battle painted chaos across the skies—one combatant high, the other low.

Spectating Black Dragon warriors and onlookers first gaped at Catherine’s devastating range and power, then marveled at Midi’s stubborn endurance.

Yet gradually, unease crept in.

This should’ve been a deathmatch. Why did their exchanges feel so measured?

Their rhythmic clash resembled… training drills.

As suspicions stirred, Midi’s battered form suddenly stilled mid-air. His aura spiked violently—

From level 66 master to level 66 peak!

Higher still it climbed, teetering at the threshold of level 67!

"That guy!"

"He was trying to break through his bottleneck again!"

"Was he really using the Ice Queen Catherine as his Grinding Stone?"

"What!?" Meanwhile, Catherine’s eyes widened in shock before her face turned deathly pale.

By now, Catherine finally understood.

Her counterattacks against Midi were identical to Midi’s earlier clash with Shelly.

The difference lay in Shelly’s weak attack power, which let Midi stand firm in the arena, enduring the Death Ice River and ignoring her ice shield while directly absorbing her strikes to fuel his own potential.

But the Ice Queen’s power was too overwhelming, her attacks too relentless. If Midi stayed on the arena ground, even constant evasion wouldn’t save him.

So he took to the skies.

By soaring a full kilometer high, he nullified most of Catherine’s assaults.

Techniques like the Death Ice River, Ice Serpent Dragon, and Frozen for Thousands of Miles became irrelevant.

He only needed to deal with the freezing spears.

Though potent, each volley of ice spears required time for Catherine to summon, keeping their frequency manageable.

If pressured, Midi could simply dodge a wave of spears.

This way, he seized complete initiative.

While it seemed Catherine had landed hits, it was only because Midi deliberately chose to face them head-on.

Now, as Midi’s realm surged upward, the truth was laid bare.

The famously powerful Children of the Dragon and the Ice Queen herself had been ruthlessly exploited as his Grinding Stone.

“A pity I couldn’t hide it longer,” Midi muttered, regret flickering across his face.

The hard clashes had reignited his True Dragon bloodline, pushing it to new heights.

Yet Midi deliberately suppressed this growth to avoid alerting Catherine.

His ideal plan was to stockpile power through their clashes and break through to level 67 in one leap.

But the gap between level 66 master and level 67 proved too vast.

As his power swelled, suppression became impossible—forcing further restraint would’ve caused backlash and internal injuries. So he unleashed it all, soaring to level 66’s peak, half a step from level 67.

One final opportunity, one catalyst, and he’d shatter the bottleneck.

But Catherine would never fire those freezing spears at him again.